Alonso de Cardenas

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Alonso de Cárdenas (* 1592 in Madrid ; † 1664 ) was a Spanish nobleman and diplomat .

Origin and family

The brother, Archbishop Enrique de Peralta y Cárdenas (1594–1678)

He was the second son of Urbán de Peralta y Calderòn and Elvira de Cárdenas y Figueroa, sister of the Count of Puebla del Maestre ( Extremadura ). His real name was Alonso de Peralta, but because of the building views of Puebla del Maestre, he mainly carried his mother's surname. Alonso's younger brother Enrique de Peralta y Cárdenas (1594–1678) officiated as Archbishop of Burgos and is buried in the Heinrichskapelle of the cathedral there, where there is also his magnificent funerary monument.

Live and act

Alonso de Cárdenas served the Kingdom of Spain as a diplomat and was a Knight of the Order of Santiago . From 1629 to 1631 he worked under the Spanish viceroy, in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies , in Naples , from 1638 the nobleman acted as envoy to King Philip IV in London . After the execution of the English King Charles I (1649), Cárdenas acquired art treasures from his estate for the Spanish crown. Among them were many valuable paintings that now hang in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, u. a. Dürer's self-portrait with landscape .

The body of Saint John Southworth saved by Cárdenas

Cárdenas kept in close contact with the persecuted Catholics of the English capital and made it possible for them to attend services in his embassy chapel. When on June 28, 1654 the Catholic priest John Southworth was hanged and quartered for exercising his pastoral office , Alonso de Cárdenas bought Southworth's body for 40 guineas , had it embalmed, reassembled and secretly carried it out of the country. John Southworth was buried in the English exile seminary in Douai in 1655 and has since been venerated as a martyr; today he is an official saint of the Catholic Church and rests in London's Westminster Cathedral . Through this matter the diplomat fell out of favor with the English Prime Minister Oliver Cromwell .

Because of the worsening political situation, the Spanish embassy had to close in 1656 and Alonso de Cárdenas went to Brussels . Here he worked in the vicinity of the English king in exile Charles II and supported his restoration plans, which were realized in 1660. Throughout his entire time as British ambassador, he kept in close contact with many London parliamentarians, whose political influence he valued. The "Encyclopedia of the Revolutions and Wars of England, Scotland and Ireland, 1639-1660" describes Cárdenas as "realists and tireless diplomats in the service of his country." Through him, Spain was the first country to see the country legitimately represented in the English parliament. In Brussels, Alonso de Cárdenas wrote his memories of England between 1638 and 1656, which are now in manuscript in the Cambridge University Library .

literature

  • Albert J. Loomie: Alonso de Cárdenas and the Long Parliament, 1640–1648 , in: English Historical Review , Volume 97, 1982, pp. 289–307, (reference with text as PDF document)
  • Michael Archer: St. John Southworth, Priest and Martyr , CTS Publications, London, 2010, p. 49, ISBN 978-1-86082-668-9 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jonathan Brown: The Sale of the Century: Artistic Relations Between Spain and Great Britain, 1604–1655 , Yale University Press, 2002, p. 96, ISBN 0-300-09761-1 ; (Digital scan)
  2. ^ Art website with its own section on Alonso de Cárdenas' acquisition of paintings
  3. ^ Article on English Catholic policy, with mention of the ambassador's purchase
  4. ↑ Stephen C. Manganiello: The Concise Encyclopedia of the Revolutions and Wars of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1639-1660 , Scarecrow Press, 2004, p. 93, ISBN 0-8108-5100-8 ; (Digital scan)
  5. ^ Cambridge University Library website on the memoirs of Alonso de Cárdenas
personal data
SURNAME Cárdenas, Alonso de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Alonso de Peralta
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Spanish nobleman and diplomat
DATE OF BIRTH 1592
PLACE OF BIRTH Madrid
DATE OF DEATH 1664